Classic Starts®: Little Women

By Louisa May Alcott, Lucy Corvino and Arthur Pober

Following Sterlings spectacularly successful launch of its childrens classic novels (240,000 books in print to date),comes a dazzling new series: Classic Starts. The stories are abridged; the quality is complete. Classic Starts treats the worlds beloved tales (and children) with the respect they deserve--all at an incomparable price.

Louisa May Alcotts classic novel, set during the Civil War, has always captivated even the most reluctant readers. Little girls, especially, love following the adventures of the four March sisters--Meg, Beth, Amy, and most of all, the tomboy Jo--as they experience the joys and disappointments, tragedies and triumphs, of growing up. This simpler version captures all the charm and warmth of the original.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Union Square Kids
• Release date: Dec 7, 2010
• ISBN: 9781402786822

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was a 19th-century American novelist best known for her novel, Little Women, as well as its well-loved sequels, Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women is renowned as one of the very first classics of children’s literature, and remains a popular masterpiece today.

Book preview

9781402786822_0002_001

Little Women

9781402786822_0002_002

Retold from the Louisa May Alcott

original by Deanna McFadden

Illustrated by Lucy Corvino

9781402786822_0002_003

STERLING and the distinctive Sterling logo are registered trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McFadden, Deanna.

   Little women / abridged by Deanna McFadden; illustrated by Lucy Corvino; retold from the Louisa May Alcott original.

       p. cm.—(Classic starts)

    Summary: An abridged version of the novel chronicling the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young women in mid-nineteenth-century New England.

   ISBN 1-4027-1236-7

   [1. Sisters—Fiction. 2. Family life—New England—Fiction. 3. New England— History—19th century—Fiction.] I. Corvino, Lucy, ill. II. Alcott, Louisa May, 1832– 1888. Little women. III. Title. IV. Series.

PZ7.M4784548Li 2004

[Fic]—dc22

2004013668

Lot#:

10 12 14 16 18 20 19 17 15 13 11

03/10

Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016

Copyright © 2005 by Deanna McFadden

Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Lucy Corvino

Distributed in Canada by Sterling Publishing

2 Canadian Manda Group, 165 Dufferin Street

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3H6

Distributed in the United Kingdom by GMC Distribution Services,

Castle Place, 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, England BN7 1XU

Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

P.O. Box 704, Windsor, NSW 2756, Australia

Classic Starts is a trademark of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Printed in China

All Rights Reserved

Design by Renato Stanisic

Sterling ISBN 978-1-4027-1236-4

For information about custom editions, special sales, premium and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales Department at 800-805-5489 or [e-mail].

CONTENTS

1

CHAPTER 1

Playing Pilgrims

CHAPTER 2

A Merry Christmas

CHAPTER 3

The Laurence Boy

CHAPTER 4

Burdens

CHAPTER 5

Being Neighborly

CHAPTER 6

Amy’s Valley of Humiliation

CHAPTER 7

Jo Meets Her Match

CHAPTER 8

Meg Goes to Vanity Fair

CHAPTER 9

Experiments

CHAPTER 10

Camp Laurence

CHAPTER 11

Castles in the Air

CHAPTER 12

Secrets

CHAPTER 13

A Telegram

CHAPTER 14

Hope and Faith

CHAPTER 15

Dark Days

CHAPTER 16

Confidential

CHAPTER 17

Pleasant Prospects

What Do You Think?

Afterword

Classic Starts™ Library

CHAPTER 1

Playing Pilgrims

1

While the snow fell quietly outside their New England home, the four March sisters stayed warm by the fire in their cozy living room.

Christmas won’t be the same without presents, grumbled fifteen-year-old Jo, lying on the rug.

Her older sister Meg sighed as she looked at her old dress. It’s not much fun being poor.

It’s not fair that some girls have lots of pretty things, and other girls don’t have any at all, sniffed Amy, who at twelve was the youngest.

But we’ve got a mother and a father who love us very much, and we’ve always got each other, thirteen-year-old Beth said happily from her corner. Her words seemed to cheer up the others.

Father’s been gone for a long time, and we don’t know when he’ll be coming back, said Jo.

Meg insisted, This is going to be a hard winter for everyone. We shouldn’t be buying presents while so many men are suffering during the war. We should make sacrifices! But even as she said these kind words, Meg still longed for pretty things at Christmas.

Jo said, We’ve only got a dollar each and that’s not going to help the army much. She was the bookworm in the family and wanted to buy anew novel. Beth longed for music, and Amy dreamed of coloring pencils to help her draw.

Jo continued, Mother wouldn’t mind if we spent our dollars on ourselves and had a little fun. We work hard.

The chimes announced that it was six o’clock. Beth put a pair of her mother’s slippers near the fire to warm. Jo noticed how old and worn they were. She said, We should get Marmee a new pair!

When Beth said she was going to buy the slippers with her dollar, Jo insisted she should be the one to buy them because their father had told her to take special care of their mother while he was away. Meg thought that she should since she was the oldest.

Beth said, I’ve got an idea! Let’s all buy something for Marmee, and not for ourselves.

All the girls thought this was a wonderful idea. Meg said she would buy Marmee some gloves.

Jo exclaimed, Satin slippers! The best I can get.

Beth chimed in, Lovely hemmed handkerchiefs.

Amy thought for a minute as she pulled one of her blond curls. I’ll get Marmee a little bottle of perfume. This way I’ll still have something for myself.

Jo was excited. I can’t wait to surprise her! She turned to her sisters. We’ll go shopping tomorrow. And remember,we’ve got to rehearse our Christmas play. Jo started marching around the living room. In a few minutes, the girls were laughing so hard they almost didn’t hear their mother come in from the cold.

Glad to see you girls are having so much fun,Marmee said. Did you all have a good day?

As Marmee took off her wet clothes, put on her warm slippers, and sat down in front of the fire, the girls flew into action. Jo stoked the fire, Meg got dinner ready, Beth helped Meg, and Amy told everyone what to do and how to do it.

When all five of them were sitting down at the dining-room table, Marmee said, I’ve got a treat for you girls after supper.

The smiles quickly spread. Jo threw her napkin in the air, crying, It’s a letter. Three cheers for Father!

Marmee nodded. Yes, it’s a letter from your father. He’s well and thinks the winter won’t actually be that bad. He sends his love for Christmas, and a special message that I’ll save until after dinner.

The girls hurried their meal. They couldn’t wait to hear the letter. They missed their father terribly.

After dinner, the four girls cuddled with their mother near the fire. Marmee read, "Tell my girls I think of the mall the time. Even though it’ll be a long while before I see them, I know they’ll act properly

Reviews for Classic Starts®

[sammusher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found the characters too cutesy-old-fashioned when I tried it as a kid (I was a realistic fiction and sci-fi reader exclusively), so I'd somehow never read the whole thing! Greta Gerwig's movie inspired me to finish it, finally.As brilliant as that adaptation is, there are still some enjoyable bits that are never filmed, especially in the second half when they're adults -- like the hilarious sequence where Amy makes Jo go visiting with her and Jo keeps fucking it up. I still find Marmee insufferable: turns out the reason every film Marmee is a holy spouter of platitudes is because she's actually written that way, in every single scene. I also really needed some acknowledgement that these are allegedly poor people *with a servant*, so what does Hannah's life look like when she isn't making everyone a meal at odd hours? But overall, ok, I get it now! This book is great, and deservedly groundbreaking!

[skavlanj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A Book That Made You CryI should have assigned Little Women to the category A Book You Struggled to Finish. I read at least two – and possibly as many as four – other books in the months between starting and finishing Louisa May Alcott's famous tale of the four March sisters. While I'm glad to have read the book, I'm also glad to have finished.Little Women is a remnant from just after the Civil War, a book that exudes an old-fashioned Christian outlook that life is a struggle to be endured with one eye always on the ultimate reward. There are no surprises in this book – the omniscient, unnamed narrator too often telegraphs her plot – and a reader cannot help but hear a feminine voice in the narration – first by suggestive chapter titles (e.g. "The Valley of the Shadow" portending death), then by alluding to future events, such as foretelling that a character will behave differently the next time he/she is in this situation. Beyond providing clues as to how we should view a character (e.g. "Poor Jo"), the narrator constantly preaches acceptance of disappointments and tragedies as lessons in how to live a worthy life. But you also have to slog through drawn-out scenes for the outcome you know is coming.I didn't find this narrative style particularly off-putting. Alcott has a way of portraying the growing pains of young people from that era realistically. In the chapter "Learning to Forget," she imbues one character's reaction to an unrequited love with such irony that you find yourself laughing with him at his surprising lack of melancholy.I also didn't find this narrative style particularly engaging. I can see where certain readers would enjoy this story, I'm just probably too old and cynical to be counted among them.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Could be a bit moralizing but overall interesting and engaging story, both funny and sad. One where I can see why its a classic rather than being annoyed by its being a classic.

[vaniced-765500 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had just finished The Goldfinch, which was dark and deep and cynical. This was an exactly opposite read. It was sweet, and preachy and good. I though I had read this book before, but if I have, it's buried down deep. Like a good romantic comedy, I waited for everything to turn out right in the end for Meg, the wife, Jo, the writer, Amy, the beauty, Beth, the saint. And it turned out as it was supposed to be. Like a chord resolving. I read it so I can read March. I found I missed the characters a bit after I finished it. I always take that for a good sign.

[completely_melanie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a new favorite classic for me. I absolutely loved it. This book is like a hug.

[drfuriosa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read Little Women countless times, but this is the first time I've read it since I got married. This time around, there are aspects of the human heart that just make more sense than they ever did before.

[fireformed · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Overall I really liked this book. There were points where it was a bit to preachy for my personal taste (though it is fitting with the times in which it was written) and I'm not keen on all the women having to give up their artistic pursuits (again fits with the time and expectations for women but I'm still not keen on it). I will say though I have no idea why everyone hates on Amy. I found her to be an all together interesting character. Jo also had a temper and did horrible things to her so I don't see why the hate is all lumped on to Amy. Perhaps if I had read this as a kid I would have felt differently, but I like Amy.

[jamiem12 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great classic

Great classic tale of life love and surviving! Glad I finally read it! I relate to Jo and her boyish ways!

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 starsMeg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are sisters. Their father is away fighting in the Civil War. They don’t have a lot of money, but they are very loved. The make friends with the neighbour-boy next door, Laurie. They are all quite different personality-wise. This follows them as they grow from teenagers into adulthood.This was good. I read it when I was much younger and did a reread via an audio book for my book club. My mind did travel a bit while listening but mostly it held my attention. I did remember most of it, I think, though more due to the movie from the ‘90s.

[derekcaelin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After a family history with this book I had to read it. It was great, and long,.but I loved the sense of the passage of time, and the pain and happiness of life.

[katherinegregg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved rereading (or rather listening to) Little Women after having seen Greta Gerwig's movie. Set during the Civil War, Little Women tells the story of four sisters (Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth) growing up in Massachusetts.

[thetruebookaddict · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This has always been a favorite and that hasn't changed. Each time I read it, I discover a new truth. It's also always such a comfort to me. The Beth parts get me every time. The utter poignancy with which Alcott wrote of Beth's struggles never ceases to wrench my soul.

I wanted to do another reread after seeing the 2019 film. If you haven't seen it, you simply must. It was a wonderful tribute to Alcott's work, and will be one I'll watch again and again. That being said, the 1994 version with Winona Ryder as Jo still remains my favorite.

[linyarai · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A great classic.

[othemts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I want to see Greta Gerwig's new adaptation of Little Women, but despite living most of my life in New England, and the past 22 years in Massachusetts, I've failed to read this book. So I'm filling in that gap in my cultural experience. As is often the case with classic novels, I find it hard to write a review that says anything that hasn't been said before.  But I did enjoy this book, which could be old-fashioned at times, but startlingly progressive for its era and still relevant in many ways. The novel is the coming of age story for the March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy - living in a fictionalized version of Concord, Massachusetts in the 1860s.  When the story begins, their father is away from home, serving as a pastor in the Civil War, and even when he returns he is a benevolent background characters.  As the title clearly states, this is a women's story, which only seems fair since many novels set in time of war exclude women entirely.  The only prominent male character throughout the novel is the boy next door, Laurie, who becomes a close friend of the March sisters.Meg is the oldest, who takes a lot of responsibility for raising her younger sisters and maintaining the household. She's married in the second part of the book and has some very relatable problems dealing with toddlers who don't want to go to bed. Jo is the second daughter, who struggles with the limitations placed on girls and women of the time, and expectations to marry.  She loves literature and drama, and becomes a writer over the course of the novel.  Not surprisingly, she is the character who is most similar to Alcott herself.  Beth is sweet and shy, and something of the family's conscience.  She has a very close relationship with Jo.  Beth contracts scarlet fever early in the novel and remains very sickly.  The youngest, Amy, is vain and materialistic as the story begins, but matures considerable over the course of the novel.  She becomes a talented artist.I shan't summarize further, but should you be like me and not have read it yet, I suggest you give it a try.  

[librarianryan · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

OMG this book is SOOOOOOO boring. I can not believe that this is still a classic and how many times the movie has been remade. UGHHHHHH. I liked the Wynona Rider version of the movie. I thought Christian Bale Lurie was perfect. But the book, I thought it was never going to end. I didn’t like Amy. I thought she was a brat in the movie and I still think the same thing according to this book. In the book I actually liked her ending up with Lurie. It felt fitting and a good match. And could see why her aunt wanted her to accompany her around the world.Beth lasted longer in the book than in the movie. In the movie she dies of scarlet fever, but lasts years longer in the book. I did think the way she was described was interesting. In modern society, she would have a ton of initialed diagnoses after her name. High anxiety, etc.There was so much more depth to the oldest march sister Meg. I don’t remember if it was in the movie that she had twins, or the deals she had with her husband upon marrying. I actually liked her much more in the book than I ever did in the movie. She has more depth.As for Joe. Joe is the reason we have a book. But I wonder if this story was modernized if she wouldn’t be a “they” or “questioning” her gender and roles in society. But that comes from a modern mind reading a classic book. And I don’t make this point because of all the times they say “queer” used as it’s original definiation as odd or unusual. But it's when she is described as not being womanly, or not caring for the roles of women. Overall I may not have enjoyed this book, but I did find it interesting. I know why I tried to read this book many times but never made it that far. And parts of me see why others like it, and why people use it for character studies. But for me, this will never be a book I recommend, but it will be a book I argue and debate.+21 #TBRread#BBRC #OriginalFreezerBook#booked2019 #publicdomain

[nthz-925317 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I guess "classics" are just not for me

[heatherlinc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this classic as a teenager and read it many times. Forty years later, I found "Little Women" just as gentle and as charming as the first time I read it as the reader follows the lives of the March girls in a by-gone era.

[danielstj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although this was a novel primarily intended for a female audience, I still found this incredibly likable and appealing. There is much here: sorrow, friendship, family, yearnings, disillusionment, and closure. The characters are vivid and the setting serves as a ready placard to explore their innermost feelings, desires, and emotions. The plot does not waver, it stays concentrated and focused on the intrigues of its principal characters and I feel that it managed to accomplish all that was intended. Overall, a great book. 4 stars.

[aprilkennedyahp · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While it is a charming coming of age tale, I found it a tad slow and a bit dry, I really like the movie though.

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Somewhat entertaining read. I did get a little weary of the repeated moral preaching by adults.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The classic tale of the March sisters--Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. It's a coming-of-age tale in many ways as the girls grow up and most find love. Marmee imparts wisdom when her daughters seek it. The neighboring Laurance family, particularly Laurie, plays an important role in the book. Jo begins her career as a writer. This classic never fails to make me cry. Even though I know it is coming, I never want Beth to die.

[csmartinsp · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was given this book when I was a child by my aunt. I absolutely hated it. If I had been a boy, I would have received something like Jules Verne, Gulliver's Travels or The treasure Island. Instead I had to settle for this crap and similar books about nice proper idle stupid girls. No wonder I hated being a girl. I still do. To be precise, now I hate being a woman.

[dorritt_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How odd to be reading this for the first time as an adult! Somehow, growing up, I missed out on reading Little Women, but the PBS Great American Reads program piqued my curiousity. What it is about this book that, 150 years later, still earns it a place among America's top 100 novels? And now that I've read it, I get it. This coming-of-age tale about four sisters growing up relative poverty in the years following the civil war is charming, sentimental, entertaining, romantic, and profoundly moral. There's a temptation to judge the tale by 21st moral values, which scrutiny might raise some hackles. For instance, Alcott's chapters - each a little morality tale in itself - resolutely preach that the ultimate life's goal of all women should be marriage, that women should be dutiful to men, that poverty and humility are more honorable than wealth and striving. Through the lens of today's standards, it's hard not to cringe a little when Meg saves her marriage by pretending to be interested in things that interest her husband, when the sisters consistently suffer humiliation every time they make the mistake of craving something material, or when Jo gives up her writing career rather than risk offending the sensibilities of a man. But there are also many moral lessons in here that have stood the test of time - such as honoring your mother/father, marrying for love rather than money, allowing men to take a part in the rearing of their children, and treating people the way you'd wish to be treated - and, besides, there's something inherently unfair in judging a book written over 150 years ago by modern standards, right?What Alcott does best is create a lovely, nostalgic portrait of childhood the way we all want to believe it used to be, full of tree-climbing and apple-picking, wise mothers, moral fathers, picnics and family parties, flirting and fooling and make-believe, with just enough work to thrown in to teach responsibility, just enough mischief added to inculcate morality, just enough sorrow endured to sweeten satisfaction, just enough heartbreak suffered to invest wisdom, and just enough hardship endured to guarantee appropriate appreciation of the blessings of friendship and love. In other words, Little Women is like comfort food for the soul: it's not so much about maximizing nutrition as about evoking memories of a happier and simpler time when morality was a little less complicated and we were all a lot more innocent.

[stephlaymon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's been a lot of years avoiding the movie, but boy am I grateful that I read this book before seeing the movie. I quite enjoyed the flawed characters, and how realistic their girlish squabbles were. It's refreshing to read a classic where all of the main characters are made from the same perfect mold.Now, I think that I would feel differently if I would have watched the movie first. I watched it after reading the books and found the character beyond annoying. They cam across as pouty little imps. The version of the movie that I watched was the one where Katherine Hepburn plays Jo. I have been a long time fan of Katherine Hepburn, but I hated the way that she overplayed Jo's boyish ways. Blah!

[justagirlwithabook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh, my childhood. I remember reading this when I was much younger (and fresh out of the Little House on the Prairie books). I absolutely love this book and have memories of watching the movie (with Winona Ryder) and just falling in love with it all over again. Highly recommend this classic. Such a lovely tale of family, friendship, and strong women.

[deckla_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Yes, it is that good. I read it as a child, and have read it twice again as an adult. Alcott draws you in, and you inhabit her world.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A classic from my childhood.
Well written and compelling. The importance of the bonds of family, friendships and relationships are themes that are still as relevant today as when Alcott first wrote her story.

[melissalenhardt · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I have tried and failed to read this book many times. I'm not sure I'll try again.

[kaylalowe-941560 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This tale is so charming, and I absolutely adore it!

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read when I was young and I laughed and cried with the "little women".